Great Canadian Flag replaced as precaution
Forecast of high winds offers excuse to take it down and check its condition
DOUG SCHMIDT
Less than two months after proudly rising 150 feet above Windsor’s riverfront for the first time, the Great Canadian Flag was replaced Wednesday by a punier version of the Maple Leaf.
The original 60 foot by 30 foot (18.3 metres by 9.2 metres) flag was hauled down to make way for a 24 foot by 12 foot (7.3 metres by 3.7 metres) version.
“We wanted to look at what the wear factor has been over the past weeks,” said Dave Woodall, a civil engineer who was the group’s project construction manager. He said it was decided to take the full-sized flag down ahead of a forecast summer storm.
“We were supposed to get some very high winds,” said Woodall. Forecast winds in excess of 50 km/h could translate to the outer edge of such a massive flag snapping at up to 100 km/h, he said.
The original plan called for a smaller flag to fly during the harsher winter months but also whenever bad weather was in the forecast.
Woodall said “a little fraying” was discovered at one of the corners. After a quick repair, he said Thursday the larger flag would likely be hoisted up the pole again on Friday.
A $100,000 maintenance trust was established as part of the Great Canadian Flag Project, in part to cover the cost of replacement flags in the future. In its dry state, the larger nylon flag weighs about 30 kilograms and costs about $3,000 to replace, said Woodall.
“It’s a learning curve for us,” he said. That means studying the best types of fabrics, threads and grommets going forward.
The public reception so far to one of the biggest Maple Leafs to dominate a Canadian skyline and flying at the foot of Ouellette Avenue has been “extremely positive,” Woodall said.
We wanted to look at what the wear factor has been over the past weeks.